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There's not much laughter in the air on the nights
leading up to ICNet's move across town, as Ward and
Mitchell, staffers Keith Brewer and Rich Schreiber and
a rotating crew of assistants work to meet a deadline
that will not stay still for long.
Negotiations with Sprint and Bell have been difficult to
complete, as each responds with a timeline that differs
from the other. That these timelines coincide is critical:
without both of their services, they're dead in the water.
The strain is evident in their faces as they work quietly,
deep in thought of other matters as their experienced hands
cut and strip cable, mount connectors, test continuity, place
and label. In the past twenty-four hours, the move-date has
zigzagged through the calendar, moving away from them and
then toward them at blinding speed. Not much is certain.
But what is certain is that Rich Screiber and John Ward have
spent hours on the phone, chasing up and down leads on people
who might know, or help, or know how to help.
Meanwhile, Mitchell works on the system, planning long-awaited
changes in configuration, not content to just take it down and bring
it back up. They don't plan to be down again for a long time.
When asked what he thinks about the departure time, he says he
has no opinion, and it's not suprising. His manner is to be
prepared at all times for anything, so a move now or later doesn't
concern him very much. He has left that matter to others.
By Monday evening, there's a major snag. Long distance won't be
ready for some weeks, they say, and local service can't wait. It
is suggested that packets be taken from one point to the other
by car. Nobody laughs.
Reluctantly, they notify users that the move has been delayed,
and continue negotiating, and wiring. No one is worried, but
everyone is serious.
They keep working, preparing, waiting. Finally, Ward
ends up on the line with someone whose office has a real
view, and things start moving.
By Midweek, a new date is set, new announcements circulated,
and work resumes in earnest. The move is Friday morning.
What's keeping much of everyone's spirits up are the guys
from Bell Atlantic, whose calm self-assurance make everyone
feel that what has to happen, will. They are on the
team, they'll make it happen. They know how.
Dawn Friday cracks clear and cold, it has snowed
the night before, and by 6:30 a.m. Richard is breaking
ice off steps the servers will have to ascend. It snowed
hard the day before, and then got cold. The ice is stubborn.
Ward calls from his
car on his way up from Virginia. "How's Mitchell ? he asks."
"He's got the look." is the reply. Ward laughs, knowing "the
look" quite well.
A flurry of activites we doubt anyone could describe,
broken by periods of waiting while one or two crucial
connections are made, followed by more flurries.
In one of the lulls, a call is made to the Wicomico
County Sheriff's Office to request a patrol car for
the trip across town. Everyone feels a little foolish,
but no one says not to do it. Chief of Detectives
Steve Matthews agrees quietly, a little amused at the request,
but understanding. He says to call him, he'll come himself.
Finally, Richard's heading toward the door with his coat on.
"Where are you going ?", John asks him. "It's time.", he
replies. "We have to bring all the lines down before they
can finish." This is it.
A few minutes later, across town, Richard brings down the
system while John and the others quickly dismantle and pack
up the equipment. As they work, users keep trying to login,
modems make connections, and everybody laughs.
In less than half an hour, the equipment is loaded, and
five vehicles head down the highway, carrying a lot of hopes
and dreams and a lot of home pages. Matthews drives slowly,
keeping an eye behind him at all times. Everyone breathes
a sigh of relief as they pull into the driveway.
It takes well under an hour, and www.intercom.net is back
on the air, back on the internet. The modems take a bit longer,
but as each line is released, and plugged in, a call comes in,
and a connection is made. Nearly all the lines are busy right
from the start, and as the number of active modems grows, the
they stay busy.
There are problems, still. Some exchanges aren't working, and
the phone guys keep working and working. Blocks of numbers are
enabled, blocks of modems go online. Richard begins to relax
a bit, Ward starts laughing, everyone else starts breathing
again. The Eagle has landed.
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